By Mary Anne Busse
Managing Director, Great Disclosure LLC
June 20, 2013
I know one young student, let’s call him Sam, who wants to attend college but he just hasn’t focused enough on his grades. Smart kid, but hasn’t applied himself. Now that he’s about to be a senior in high school he’s realized that he needs to step it up. He even thinks it may be too late. I also hear many students say that college won’t work for them because they don’t know what they want to do. Others think they have too many financial responsibilities. Still others may think college costs too much.
If you’re like Sam, you may want to check out a website I’ve recently discovered that’s sponsored by the College Board. It’s called YouCanGo! And it’s jam packed with helpful information and great stories of students who didn’t think they could make it in college.
At YouCanGo! You can check out your college options. For example, did you know that just graduating from high school taking basic required courses gives you 1740 college opportunities? Most are community colleges and other open admission schools but community college can be a great first step to a four-year degree. If you take the ACT® or the SAT® the number of available schools goes up to 3090.
You can search for nearby colleges and figure out next steps. For a Junior in High School, for example, the site gives some great suggestions including questions to ask a counselor or teacher, careers that require a college degree, what classes to take in your last years of high school and suggestions for visiting local colleges.
There are a lot of options for a student like Sam. You just need to be willing to look for them. Maybe you (or your child) need to take summer school classes to bring your grade point average up. Maybe starting with community college is the right move. Just like with college savings, it’s never too late to start believing that you can go to college!
About the Author:
Mary Anne Busse is the Managing Director of Great Disclosure LLC, a full service consulting firm dedicated to the 529 Plan marketplace. Great Disclosure represents 529 Plan administrators on all aspects of 529 Plan administration, marketing, and operations.